The blood mist had shrouded Kirigakure for three full months.
In the top-floor office of the Mizukage Building, Yagura sat quietly in his chair, his eyes vacant, like an exquisitely crafted puppet.
Faint screams drifted in through the window-the sounds of rebels being hunted down, the brutal spectacle that played out every day under the "Bloody Mist Village" policy.
But only a handful of people knew that this seemingly tyrannical Fourth Mizukage had long since lost his free will.
"Lord Yagura, today's execution list."
An Anbu ninja knelt on one knee and presented a scroll.
Yagura gave no reply. He merely raised his hand mechanically and stamped it with the Mizukage's seal.
His movements were stiff and lifeless.
The Anbu ninja lowered his head to accept it. As he turned, he caught a glimpse of Yagura's shadow twisting unnaturally beneath the light.
But he dared not say a word and hurried out of the office.
The moment the door closed, Yagura's shadow returned to normal.
"What a convenient ability."
Obito Uchiha's voice sounded from a corner of the room. He still wore that Spiral Mask.
But he had changed into the signature pure-white robes of Las Noches, utterly out of place in cold, bloodstained Kirigakure.
"Using Kamui to implant genjutsu directly into the depths of his mind, even suppressing the Three-Tails' resistance along with it...
The Reiatsu Seed Teacher gave me really does have endless uses."
He walked to the window and looked down at the village shrouded in bloodshed and fear.
The streets were deserted, with only patrolling Anbu moving through the shadows.
Occasionally, a Resistance Army ninja tried to fight back, but enemies outnumbering them several times over quickly overwhelmed them. Their bodies were dragged away, their blood seeping into the cracks between the stone paving slabs.
Everything